Examining the role of attention during feature binding in visuospatial working memory.

The current experiments address the enduring debate regarding the role of attention in feature binding in visuospatial working memory by considering the nature of the to-be-bound features, i.e., whether they are intrinsic (integrated within the object, such as its color and shape) or extrinsic (not part of the object, such as its spatial location). Specifically, arrays of different-colored shapes in different locations were followed by probed recall: One feature of the probed object prompted recall of one of its remaining two features (e.g., a shape probe prompts recall of color, with the probe displayed at the center of the screen (i.e., without spatial information)) to test the retention of intrinsic (shape, color) and extrinsic (location) features. During the retention interval, we manipulated attention via disruption (Experiment 1) and retro-cues (Experiment 2) to determine their impacts on binding errors, as estimated from a three-parameter mixture model fit to recall error (i.e., the distance between the target and response). Disrupting central versus peripheral attention in Experiment 1 did not respectively increase extrinsic and intrinsic binding errors as predicted, but disrupting central attention reduced target memory of the extrinsic feature relative to a no-disruption baseline. Guiding attention via extrinsic and intrinsic retro-cues in Experiment 2 did not respectively reduce extrinsic and intrinsic binding errors as predicted, but we observed retro-cue benefits to target memory that did not distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic features. Thus, this work highlights that attentional resources aid target memory, with no consistent distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic features.

The social readjustment rating scale: Updated and modernised.

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale, originally devised in 1967 by Holmes and Rahe, measures the impact of life events stress. At the time, the SRRS advanced its field of research by standardising the impact of stress with a set of independently derived weights called 'life change units' (LCUs) for 43 life events found to predict illness onset. The scale has been criticised for being outdated, e.g. "Mortgage over $10,000" and biased, e.g. "Wife begin or stop work". The aim of this cross-sectional survey study is to update and improve the SRRS whilst allowing backwards compatibility. We successfully updated the SRRS norms/LCUs using the ratings of 540 predominantly UK adults aged 18 to 84. Moreover, we also updated wording of 12 SRRS items and evaluated the impact of demographics, personal experience and loneliness. Using non-parametric frequentist and Bayesian statistics we found that the updated weights were higher but broadly consistent with those of the original study. Furthermore, changes to item wording did not affect raters' evaluations relative to the original thereby ensuring cross-comparability with the original SRRS. The raters were not unduly influenced by their personal experiences of events nor loneliness. The target sample was UK rather than US-based and was proportionately representative regarding age, sex and ethnicity. Moreover, the age range was broader than the original SRRS. In addition, we modernised item wording, added one optional extra item to the end of the scale to evaluate the readjustment to living alone and identified 3 potential new items proposed by raters. Backwards-compatibility is maintained.

Do non-traumatic stressful life events and ageing negatively impact working memory performance and do they interact to further impair working memory performance?

Stress and normal ageing produce allostatic load, which may lead to difficulties with cognition thereby degrading quality of life. The current study's objective was to assess whether ageing and cumulative stress interact to accelerate cognitive decline. With 60 participants, Marshall et al. found that ageing and cumulative stress interact significantly to impair working memory performance in older adults, suggesting vulnerability to the cumulative effects of life events beyond 60 years old. To replicate and extend this finding, we increased the sample size by conducting 3 independent studies with 156 participants and improved the statistical methods by conducting an iterative Bayesian meta-analysis with Bayes factors. Bayes factors deliver a more comprehensive result because they provide evidence for either the null hypothesis (H0), the alternative hypothesis (H1) or for neither hypothesis due to evidence not being sufficiently sensitive. Young (18-35 yrs) and older (60-85 yrs) healthy adults were categorised as high or low stress based on their life events score derived from the Life Events Scale for Students or Social Readjustment Rating Scale, respectively. We measured accuracy and reaction time on a 2-back working memory task to provide: a) Bayes factors and b) Bayesian meta-analysis, which iteratively added each study's effect sizes to evaluate the overall strength of evidence that ageing, cumulative stress and/or the combination of the two detrimentally affect working memory performance. Using a larger sample (N = 156 vs. N = 60) and a more powerful statistical approach, we did not replicate the robust age by cumulative stress interaction effect found by Marshall et al.. The effects of ageing and cumulative stress also fell within the anecdotal range (⅓

Outdoor recreational activity experiences improve psychological wellbeing of military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: Positive findings from a pilot study and a randomised controlled trial.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: The authors confirm that all ongoing and related trials for this intervention are registered. The studies reported in this manuscript are registered as clinical trials at ISRCTN: Pilot ID- ISRCTN15325073 RCT ID- ISRCTN59395217.

Future preferences and prospection of future of outcomes: Independent yet specific associations with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct problems have been associated with heightened temporal discounting of reward value resulting in a preference for immediate over delayed outcomes. We examined the cross-sectional relationship between future preference (including intertemporal choice) and prospection (the ability to bring to mind and imagine the experience of future personally-relevant events and outcomes) in adolescents with a range of ADHD symptoms and aggressive behaviour. METHODS: A combination of behavioural tasks and self-reports measured intertemporal decision making, individual differences in preference for future outcomes and experience of prospection in a convenience sample of English adolescents aged 11-17 (n = 64, 43.8% males). Parents rated symptoms of ADHD and aggression. RESULTS: & Conclusions: Factor analysis identified two factors: "Future Preference" and "Prospection". Significant negative bivariate correlations were found between ADHD and the scores of both factors and between aggression and Future Preference. A path model confirmed the independent significant association of ADHD with both factors but not with aggression. There was no evidence that Prospection was associated with Future Preference or that it reduced the associations between ADHD symptoms and Future Preference. These results provide further evidence that ADHD is associated with a tendency to prefer immediate over future outcomes. The same association with aggression seemed to be driven by the overlap with ADHD symptoms. We provide some of the first evidence that individuals with high ADHD symptoms have difficulty in prospecting about future episodes. However, this is unrelated to their preference for future outcomes.

Children's mental health and recreation: Limited evidence for associations with screen use.

AIM: This study examined the direct and indirect associations between childhood psychopathology symptoms, screen use, media multitasking and participation in non-digital recreation. METHODS: Psychopathology symptoms, media use, media multitasking, participation in sports, social clubs and reading/games were reported by 520 parents about their 3- to 11-year-old children. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. RESULTS: There were bidirectional negative associations between sports participation and emotional problems (ß = -0.16, P < .001 and ß = -0.15, P < .001); attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms were associated with reduced reading/games (ß = -0.14, P = .004). A bidirectional positive association was found between media use and conduct problems (ß = 0.10, P = .015 and ß = 0.14, P = .015). Increased media multitasking was indirectly associated with elevated symptoms of ADHD via a reduction in reading/games (ß = 0.10, P = .026). However, there was no evidence that screen use mediated the associations between psychopathology symptoms and non-digital recreation. CONCLUSION: Depending on the specific psychological difficulties, children are either less likely to participate in non-digital recreation or are more likely to use screen media or multitask with media. Interventions for children, who experience emotional or behavioural difficulties, are needed to improve participation in non-digital recreation.

What helps children learn difficult tasks: A teacher's presence may be worth more than a screen.

AIMS: What helps children learn: is it a presence of a live teacher or an interaction with the learning materials? Addressing this question, we manipulated a teacher's presence (on-screen vs. present) and activity (observing vs. doing) while teaching children about the properties of geometric shapes. METHOD: Five-year-olds (n = 215) completed two shape-sorting tasks in which they distinguished between typical, atypical and non-valid shapes. In between these tasks, they took part in one of four training sessions: doing teacher-present, observing teacher-present, doing teacher-on-screen and observing teacher-on-screen. RESULTS: Although children's shape knowledge improved across all training conditions, learning showed an interaction between teacher presence and task difficulty. In a teacher's presence, children learned more about the most difficult (atypical) shapes, irrespective of activity. It may be the social interaction, associated with a teacher's presence, that enhances learning. Conversely, physically taking part in interactive touchscreen training did not result in more learning than passive screen viewing.

The Short-Term Effect of Video Editing Pace on Children's Inhibition and N2 and P3 ERP Components during Visual Go/No-Go Task.

We investigated the immediate consequences of differently paced videos on behaviour and neural activity during response inhibition. Forty 7-year-olds watched a fast- or slow-paced video and completed a go/no-go task. Compared to the slow-paced-video group, children in the fast-paced-video group made more no-go errors. There was also an interaction between pace and no-go response type (correct, wrong) for the N2 and P3 peak latencies. In the slow-paced group, both components peaked earlier for correct response withholds. This usual pattern of activation was absent in the fast-paced group. Video pace appears to affect behaviour and the neural responses involved in inhibition.

Prefrontal transcranial alternating current stimulation improves motor sequence reproduction.

Cortical activity in frontal, parietal, and motor regions during sequence observation correlates with performance on sequence reproduction. Increased cortical activity observed during observation has therefore been suggested to represent increased learning. Causal relationships have been demonstrated between M1 and motor sequence reproduction and between parietal cortex and bimanual learning. However, similar effects have not been reported for frontal regions despite a number of reports implicating its involvement in encoding of motor sequences. Investigating causal relations between cortical activity and reproduction of motor sequences in parietal, frontal and primary motor regions can disentangle whether specific regions during simple observation can be selectively ascribed to encoding or reproduction or both. We designed a sensorimotor paradigm that included a strong motor sequence component, and tested the impact of individually adjusted transcranial alternating current stimulation (IAF-tACS) to prefrontal, parietal, and primary motor regions on electroencephalographic motor rhythms (alpha and beta bandwidths) during motor sequence observation and the ability to reproduce the observed sequences. Independently of the stimulated region, IAF-tACS led to a reduction in suppression in the lower beta-range relative to sham. Prefrontal IAF-tACS however, led to significant improvement in motor sequence reproduction, pinpointing the crucial role of prefrontal regions in motor sequence reproduction.

Cognitive Interpretation Bias: The Effect of a Single Session Moderate Exercise Protocol on Anxiety and Depression.

Research conducted within the cognitive bias modification (CBM) paradigm has revealed that cognitive biases such as negative cognitive interpretation biases contribute to mental health disorders such as anxiety (Beard, 2011). It has been shown that exercise reduces anxiety (Ensari et al., 2015). Exercise has also been found to reduce negative cognitive attention biases (Tian and Smith, 2011), however, no research to date has investigated the effect of exercise on cognitive interpretation bias. The key aims of the current project is to investigate whether moderate exercise reduces self-reported symptoms of depression and stress. Additionally, to establish which intensity of exercise is required to achieve anxiety reduction and reduce an individual's negative cognitive interpretation biases. Study 1 recruited a healthy sample of adult participants who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a walking exercise protocol or a control condition (n = 2 × 12). Participants completed anxiety and cognitive interpretation bias measures before and after the walking exercise or control condition. Those in the walking exercise condition presented less symptoms of trait anxiety on a measure of state and trait anxiety inventory (STAI), compared to controls relative to baseline measures following the intervention. Study 2 recruited frequent exercisers who were assigned to an exercise or control group (n = 2 × 24). Participants completed anxiety, depression, psychological stress, and cognitive interpretation bias measures before and after the exercise or control condition. Following the intervention, negative interpretation biases decreased in the exercise group and stayed stable in the control group. The exercise group also had significantly decreased anxiety, depression, and stress measures after the exercise condition, while controls did not. The research concludes that CBM holds promise for the management of mood disorders and exercise is an effective accompaniment to psychotherapy.

The speed of parietal theta frequency drives visuospatial working memory capacity.

The speed of theta brain oscillatory activity is thought to play a key role in determining working memory (WM) capacity. Individual differences in the length of a theta cycle (ranging between 4 and 7 Hz) might determine how many gamma cycles (>30 Hz) can be nested into a theta wave. Gamma cycles are thought to represent single memory items; therefore, this interplay could determine individual memory capacity. We directly tested this hypothesis by means of parietal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) set at slower (4 Hz) and faster (7 Hz) theta frequencies during a visuospatial WM paradigm. Accordingly, we found that 4-Hz tACS enhanced WM capacity, while 7-Hz tACS reduced WM capacity. Notably, these effects were found only for items presented to the hemifield contralateral to the stimulation site. This provides causal evidence for a frequency-dependent and spatially specific organization of WM storage, supporting the theta-gamma phase coupling theory of WM capacity.

When you can, scale up: Large-scale study shows no effect of tDCS in an ambiguous risk-taking task.

BACKGROUND: A wide range of neuroimaging and neuromodulation studies have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a pivotal role in decision-making. Of particular interest is the question of its role in decision-making when conditions are uncertain and whether manipulating this neural substrate through neuromodulation changes subsequent risk-taking behaviour. Previous work using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) suggests that bilateral tDCS stimulation of the DLPFC reduces risk-taking behaviour but unilateral stimulation has no effect. However, participant numbers have been limited and may have biased the estimate of the size of the effect of the stimulation on task performance. OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to test the robustness and generalizability of these previous findings by using a very similar methodology but with a much larger sample. METHODS: During both 20- and 30-min tDCS stimulation at 2mA, we administered the BART to about 200 participants assigned to bilateral DLPFC stimulation of either right anodal/left cathodal, left anodal/right cathodal or sham (Study 1 and Study 2); and to unilateral stimulation conditions (Study 2): right anodal, left anodal or sham with the referent electrode over the contralateral supraorbital region. RESULTS: In the first bilateral study, we found that risk-taking was greater for participants in the right anodal/left cathodal stimulation group compared to those who received left anodal/right cathodal stimulation, but not compared to sham. The results obtained in the bilateral and unilateral stimulation protocols implemented in Study 2 yielded no evidence of any effect of stimulation. Combining the data from both studies, we found no statistically significant differences between mean performances of the nine stimulation groups. Indeed, all 95% confidence intervals for the nine means overlapped, suggesting that these randomly vary around a common population mean. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that there was no detectable effect of tDCS stimulation on risky decision-making under ambiguity, compared to sham stimulation. Hence, using a much larger sample, we did not replicate previous work reporting a reduction in risky decision-making by bilateral stimulation of the DLPFC compared to sham. When the results of our bilateral and unilateral stimulation studies were combined, it emerged that the most likely explanation for the apparent significant results in our bilateral stimulation study was random variation in performance. This outcome is a further reminder of the need for appropriately sized samples to potentially achieve reliable outcomes in brain modulation studies.

The association between high levels of cumulative life stress and aberrant resting state EEG dynamics in old age.

Cumulative experienced stress produces shortcomings in old adults' cognitive performance. These are reflected in electrophysiological changes tied to task execution. This study explored whether stress-related aberrations in older adults' electroencephalographic (EEG) activity were also apparent in the system at rest. To this effect, the amount of stressful life events experienced by 60 young and 60 elderly participants were assessed in conjunction with resting state power changes in the delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequencies during a resting EEG recording. Findings revealed elevated levels of delta power among elderly individuals reporting high levels of cumulative life stress. These differed significantly from young high and low stress individuals and old adults with low levels of stress. Increases of delta activity have been linked to the emergence of conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Thus, a potential interpretation of our findings associates large amounts of cumulative stress with an increased risk of developing age-related cognitive pathologies in later life.

Differential effects of film on preschool children's behaviour dependent on editing pace.

AIM: Evidence on how the pace of television and film editing affects children's behaviour and attention is inconclusive. We examined whether a fast-paced film affected how preschool-aged children interacted with toys. METHODS: The study comprised 70 children (36 girls) aged two to four-and-a-half years who attended preschools in Essex, United Kingdom. The children were paired up and tested with either a fast- or a slow-paced film of a narrator reading a children's story. The fast-paced version had 102 camera cuts and 16 still images, and the slow-paced version had 22 camera cuts and four still images. Each dyad took part in two video-recorded free-play sessions, before and after they watched one of the specially edited four-minute films. The number of toys the children played with before and after the film sessions was recorded. RESULTS: Before they watched the films, the children's behaviour did not differ between the groups. However, after watching the film, the children in the fast-paced group shifted their attention between toys more frequently than the children who watched the slow-paced film. CONCLUSION: Even a brief exposure to differently paced films had an immediate effect on how the children interacted with their toys.

Transcranial alternating current stimulation to the inferior parietal lobe decreases mu suppression to egocentric, but not allocentric hand movements.

Egocentric vs. allocentric perspective during observation of hand movements has been related to self-other differentiation such that movements observed from an egocentric viewpoint have been considered as self-related while movements observed from an allocentric viewpoint have been considered as belonging to someone else. Correlational studies have generally found that egocentric perspective induces greater neurophysiological responses and larger behavioral effects compared to an allocentric perspective. However, recent studies question previous findings by reporting greater (µ) suppression and greater transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) during observation of allocentric compared to egocentric movements. Furthermore, self-other differentiation has been generally related to activity within the inferior parietal lobe (IPL), but direct evidence for a causal and functional role of IPL in self-other differentiation is lacking. The current study was therefore designed to investigate the influence that IPL exerts on self-other differentiation. To this aim, we measured the impact of individually adjusted alpha-tuned transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied over IPL on µ-suppression during hands movement observation from an egocentric and allocentric perspective. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during movement observation before and immediately after tACS. Results demonstrated that tACS decreased µ-reactivity over sensorimotor (but not visual) regions for egocentric (but not allocentric) movement observation providing direct evidence for a causal involvement of IPL in the observation of self- but not other-related hand movement.

Touchscreen generation: children's current media use, parental supervision methods and attitudes towards contemporary media.

AIM: To explore media preferences and use among young children, as well as to obtain information about parental supervision methods and beliefs about media. METHOD: Ninety parents of three- to six-year-olds, recruited from a relatively economically advantaged area in the United Kingdom, completed a media opinion survey. RESULTS: Although traditional television remains the favourite type of media platform among young children, touchscreen devices are gaining in popularity, and may promote simultaneous multi-screen use. Moreover, parents believe that the effects of media on developmental outcomes are generally positive. However, they do monitor the content of traditional and new media their children are exposed to. CONCLUSION: This study shows an emerging evidence of concurrent multi-screen use among very young children. More detailed examination of early media multitasking, and its relationship to cognitive and behavioural outcomes, is necessary.

Culture shapes empathic responses to physical and social pain.

The present research investigates the extent to which cultural background moderates empathy in response to observing someone undergoing physical or social pain. In 3 studies, we demonstrate that East Asian and White British participants differ in both affective and cognitive components of their empathic reactions in response to someone else's pain. Compared with East Asian participants, British participants report greater empathic concern and show lower empathic accuracy. More important, findings cannot be explained by an in-group advantage effect. Potential reasons for observed cultural differences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Perceived Comfort and Blinding Efficacy in Randomised Sham-Controlled Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Trials at 2 mA in Young and Older Healthy Adults.

BACKGROUND: tDCS studies typically find that: lowest levels of comfort occur at stimulation-onset; young adult participants experience less comfort than older participants; and participants' blinding seems effective at low current strengths. At 2 mA conflicting results have been reported, questioning the effectiveness of blinding in sham-controlled paradigms using higher current strengths. Investigator blinding is rarely reported. OBJECTIVE: Using a protocol with 30 min of 2 mA stimulation we sought to: (a) investigate the level of perceived comfort in young and older adults, ranging in age from 19 to 29 years and 63 to 76 years, respectively; (b) test investigator and participant blinding; (c) assess comfort over a longer stimulation duration; (d) add to the literature on protocols using 2 mA current strength. METHODS: A two-session experiment was conducted where sham and active stimulation were administered to the frontal cortex at the F8/FP1 sites in a within-subjects manner. Levels of perceived comfort were measured, using a visual analogue scale, at the start and end of stimulation in young and older adults. Post-stimulation, participants and investigators judged whether or not active stimulation was used. RESULTS: Comfort scores were lower at stimulation onset in both age groups. Older adults reported: (i) more comfort than young participants overall; (ii) comparable levels of comfort in sham and active stimulation; (iii) significantly more comfort than the young participants during active stimulation. Stimulation mode was correctly identified above chance in the second of the two sessions; 65% of all participants correctly identified the stimulation mode, resulting in a statistical trend. Similarly, the experimenter correctly identified stimulation mode significantly above chance, with 62% of all investigator judgements correct across 120 judgements. CONCLUSIONS: Using 2 mA current strength over 30 minutes, tDCS stimulation comfort is lower at stimulation onset in young and older adults and, overall, lower for young participants. Investigators and participants may be able to identify active stimulation at above chance levels, although accuracy never exceeded 65% for either participants or the experimenter. Further research into blinding efficacy is recommended.

Experienced stress produces inhibitory deficits in old adults' Flanker task performance: First evidence for lifetime stress effects beyond memory.

Studies regarding aged individuals' performance on the Flanker task differ with respect to reporting impaired or intact executive control. Past work has explained this discrepancy by hypothesising that elderly individuals use increased top-down control mechanisms advantageous to Flanker performance. This study investigated this mechanism, focussing on cumulative experienced stress as a factor that may impact on its execution, thereby leading to impaired performance. Thirty elderly and thirty young participants completed a version of the Flanker task paired with electroencephalographic recordings of the alpha frequency, whose increased synchronisation indexes inhibitory processes. Among high stress elderly individuals, findings revealed a general slowing of reaction times for congruent and incongruent stimuli, which correlated with alpha desynchronisation for both stimulus categories. Results found high performing (low stress) elderly revealed neither a behavioural nor electrophysiological difference compared to young participants. Therefore, rather than impacting on top-down compensatory mechanisms, findings indicate that stress may affect elderly participants' inhibitory control in attentional and sensorimotor domains.

The impact of experienced stress on aged spatial discrimination: Cortical overreliance as a result of hippocampal impairment.

A large body of neuroscientific work indicates that exposure to experienced stress causes damage to both cortical and hippocampal cells and results in impairments to cognitive abilities associated with these structures. Similarly, work within the domain of cognitive aging demonstrates that elderly participants who report experiencing greater amounts of stress show reduced levels of cognitive functioning. The present article attempted to combine both findings by collecting data from elderly and young participants who completed a spatial discrimination paradigm developed by Reagh and colleagues [Reagh et al. (2013) Hippocampus 24:303-314] to measure hippocampal-mediated cognitive processes. In order to investigate the effect of stress on the cortex and, indirectly, the hippocampus, it paired the paradigm with electroencephalographic recordings of the theta frequency band, which is thought to reflect cortical/hippocampal interactions. Findings revealed that elderly participants with high levels of experienced stress performed significantly worse on target recognition and lure discrimination and demonstrated heightened levels of cortical theta synchronization compared with young and elderly low stress counterparts. Results therefore provided further evidence for the adverse effect of stress on cognitive aging and indicate that impaired behavioral performance among high stress elderly may coincide with an overreliance on cortical cognitive processing strategies as a result of early damage to the hippocampus.